"We were over," she said. "Every Friday."
Raul stepped forward.
"Mrs. Rosenthal," he said evenly. "I sat with that book and his pay stubs for two months. Every dollar in it came out of Stan's own wallet."
"He ate eggs for dinner for sixteen years."
"He wore the same boots for nine."
"And you're calling him a th*ef in front of his daughter."
Millicent opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Mr. Lombardi walked slowly to the edge of the stage.
He did not take the microphone back.
He didn't need it.
He had pulled a folded paper from inside his jacket, and he held it up so the whole gym could see the school district letterhead.
"These are the minutes of the November twelfth board meeting," he said, and his voice carried without any speaker at all. "I'll read one line."
"Motion 14B. To reduce custodial staff to twenty-nine hours per week, effective December first."
